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I Forge Iron

nhblacksmith

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Everything posted by nhblacksmith

  1. +1 on Peter Ross being a true master. That said, I have to comment on a major safety issue in this film. I don't have television so I don't know if this Roy Underhill is as unsafe in other films as he was in this one but to show that video without wearing safety glasses was a disservice to the viewers. I cringed as I watched him lean over the anvil to see where Peter's blows were falling, at times his eyes less than two feet from the hot iron. In this litigious society, safety equipment is mandatory and should be a part of any educational film. I keep both safety glasses and ear plugs (for when I'm running my air hammer) for visitors and if they won't wear them, I won't work. I apologize for the lecture but since the majority of this forum consists of people new to blacksmithing or part time hobbyists, safety needs to be reinforced routinely.
  2. You can always hot punch the holes. That will likely leave a very slight bulge on the sides of the handle tang but they are easy to grind back flat.
  3. If you have, or have access to, a small press that would do a real nice job of straightening the leg cold. It doesn't take much to bend them as they are designed for a vertical load, not horizontal stress.
  4. My big anvil is a Kolswa B31 - 146 Kg and the small one a Kolswa A1 - 75 Kg. I bought the A1 new in 1981 and the B31 new about 5 years later. My B31 sits on the end of a 12" x 16" piece of Rock Maple almost 8' long, the bulk of which is buried in the ground. Talk about rock solid and no ring at all.
  5. The New England School of Metalworking in Maine has some salvaged wrought iron for sale on their site at: http://www.newenglandschoolofmetalwork.com/forsale.php They have both 1-1/2" and 1-3/4" bar available at $4 a pound.
  6. I can't tell you much about the numbers but Kohlswas were very popular in the US from the 60's to the 80's when Centaur Forge imported and sold boatloads of them. They have been making anvils for about 70 years. I bought a 165# Kohlswa 30 years ago when I first started smithing and later bought a second one-a 325# double horn Kohlswa that is still my primary anvil. My original Kohlswa is now mounted on a portable stand near the power hammer for any tweaking without having to walk to the big anvil. At the time I bought mine they had a well-deserved reputation of being a little soft. They have work hardened considerably through the years but a bad blow near the edge will still leave a dent. If they are not fastened down solidly, the ringing will drive you insane. Even with their faults, I have been very happy with both of mine and they are in daily use. Neal
  7. "The only identifiable markings are on the left front foot (if you're about to put your eye out with the horn, that is) and it appears to be a 5-digit number. Most of it has been obliterated by years of punching and chiseling. Maybe someone can explain why someone would go to the foot of an anvil when they needed a place to set a punch... The rest of the body, face and horn had been treated the same way- punch and chisel marks all over. And there is also a number 6 or 9 just under the horn (this would depend on whether it was punched in top down or rightside up)." I live in far northern New Hampshire in the heart of logging country and all the old anvils up here have what appear to be "punch" marks on the sides of the anvil, top to bottom. They are actually where the blacksmith set the points on peaveys which he was repairing by driving the point into the handle on the side of the anvil. Your marks may be the same. Neal
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